I-80 Bridge over Mississippi River: 4 lanes open

For the first time in two years, both lanes on both sides of the bridge are now open!  And usually all four lanes on both the Iowa and Illinois sides are open, making for pretty smooth driving.  They still have some minor repair to do in the spring, but for now, one of the ugliest [...]

I-80 Bridge Open to Two Way Traffic

After three months of the east bound span being closed (resulting in my drive to work taking 50 minutes, hey I could be in Iowa City if I went straight west that long), the bridge opened to two way traffic (after I went to work) on Friday.   The east span that had been completely closed [...]

Details on I-80 Bridge Repair 2010

The Le Claire Iowa chamber of commerce website has a link to a powerpoint developed by Illinois DOT with more details on the work.  It is informative: http://www.leclairechamber.com/design/i80_bridge_update.html

Which side of the bridge did you drive on today?

The I-80 bridge did some switch overs today.  IDOT rerouted part of the traffic to the newly paved westbound approach.  I know, I drove over it coming home from work. http://www.qctimes.com/news/local/article_f3af4266-9160-11de-8820-001cc4c002e0.html

I-80 approach to Mississippi–Getting closer to Done

Here are some shots I took coming home from work on July 30.  This shows the work on the Illinois side of the approach to the bridge.

I-80 Bridge over Mississippi River

Still closed eastbound to Illinois from Iowa.  I advise advance planning for travelers.

What is Illlinois hiding about I-80 bridge?

The local newspaper filed an FOIA request on I-80 bridge inspection reports, Illinois DOT manages the bridges.  Illinois stiffed the newspaper, citing national security. Iowa and Minnesota make their reports public. More good and decent government in Illinois? As a regular commuter on the I-80 bridge, I would certainly like to read those reports. Check [...]

I-80 bridge detour signs confusing

The detour signs have caused all sorts of folks to wander around Leclaire and Bettendorf, just looking for a way over the river. http://www.qctimes.com/news/local/ask-the-times/article_644560f4-5954-11de-8414-001cc4c03286.html

I-80 Bridge over Mississippi Closed to Illinois

So you think you can get from Iowa to Illinois just by driving over the Interstate 80 bridge??  Wrong. The west-east route has been closed for a couple of weeks.  No date certain to reopen.  There is one lane open on the east-west route. Inspectors are quite cautious about bridges over the Mississippi River these [...]

Mississippi River I-80 bridge from below

Here is what this bridge looks like from the ground on the Iowa side: